The UFI approved professional footwear event in Asia, The 7th Dongguan China Shoes. China Shoetec (Spring 2008)(also known as China Shoes) closed successfully on April 18, 2008 at GD Modern International Exhibition Center, Houjie, Dongguan, PR China.

With full support by Houjie Government and shoes industry, exhibiting area reached 22,000sqm, 507 exhibitors joined the exhibition and 20,580 visitors and buyers from 80 countries and regions have been attracted to visit and source at the fair. Dongguan China Shoes.

China Shoetec is reconfirmed to be one of the best one-stop sourcing platform for middle-to-high end footwear, materials and machineries in Asia.

China Shoes was jointly organized by China Chamber of Commerce for I/E of Light Industrial Products & Arts-Crafts, Messe Dusseldorf China Ltd, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd & Guangdong Modern Convention and Exhibition Management Co, Ltd.

International buyers were attracted by exhibitors' well-selected products and attractive booth designs. Around 27% buyers were from overseas representing 80 countries and regions including Japan, United States, Korea, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Philippines, Italy, Spain, Singapore, etc.

Federcalzature has organized European buyers to source at the exhibition and the delegates expressed that it was a fruitful trip. Mr. P. Wingate, an Australian shoes importer, said he was satisfied with the exhibitors' quality and overall atmosphere of China Shoes, he would visit the show again in next edition.

A Russian buyer (who preferred not to be named) said that he visited Dongguan, Guangzhou and Hong Kong in his sourcing trip and was glad to find the shoes that he wants at China Shoes.

China Shoes has also gained enormous support by domestic corporations and associations who organized their members to visit and source at the exhibition.

Meanwhile, buyers and representatives from department stores, chain stores, distributors, retailers and individual buyers from different provinces & cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Dalin, Shandong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc, visited the fair.

Specialized Products Zones to Facilitate Buyers' Visit China Shoes is recognized as the most professional one-stop sourcing platform for middle-to-high end footwear, materials and machineries in Asia. To facilitate buyers' visit & sourcing, organizers had specially set up "Finished Shoes Zone", "Shoetec-Machinery Zone" and "Shoetec-Material Zone".

At the "Finished Shoes Zone", trendy footwear was displayed to attract buyers with different buying needs. "Shoetec-Material Zone" contained various materials including leather, accessories & components, soles, heels, etc.

"Shoetec-Machinery Zone" was crowded with exhibitors to showcase their latest shoes-making machineries. Ms. M. Lau, footwear buyer of a US company in Hong Kong said, "It's good to set up different product zones in this year, it's easier for buyers to find the relevant products."

Mr. J. Wong, a designer in Shenzhen, told that the product zones were very clear, and he thought it's good to group pavilions together that he could see the design characteristics of different regions.

Exhibitors are satisfied with the exhibiting results. "There are more overseas buyers this year, among those buyers who are interested in our products, around 30% are from overseas." said Ms Chan of Manley.

Representative of Heng Tai expressed that buyers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Japan were very interested in their products, and they had a very good return at the show. Representative of a German company, Central Park, said that it was the 2nd time for them to exhibit at China Shoes, they found more overseas visitors this year, and their participating result was better than last year.

She further said China Shoes is the only exhibition that they joined in China and they would exhibit again in next edition. Some exhibitors intended to expand their exhibiting area in next edition, in order to display more new product varieties.

For example, Quan Sheng is considering expanding the booth size to over 100sqm, tripling their booth size of this year. They will also incorporate the idea of fashion show in product display to attract more buyers.

Fabulous events have been arranged concurrently, including "Fashion Show" to display the latest shoes collections and design; "Selective Salon" to demonstrate the prize-winning works of designers from Hong Kong & Mainland China and to show the leading fashion trend; "Display Zone" to showcase the winning products of footwear design competition.

Besides, to address the hot issues on the challenges that shoe-makers are facing and their concerns, over 10 professional seminars have been organized.

The seminars attracted over a thousand audience to participate, to discuss and share experience with speakers on the latest hot topics, to explore how to create opporutnities under the challenging environment.

To welcome buyers especially those coming from a long way, organizers have arranged "Buyers Dinner" on April 16 night (at the show's opening day). Invited international buyers and guests gathered at the dinner to network and exchange market information under a casual environment.

"Premium Buyers Lounge" was set up onsite to provide premier services to buyers, including transportation, translation services, business matching, etc. Many buyers have confirmed their presence in next exhibition. Pizzeria, cafe and Chinese-style restaurant gave a lot of choices to international visitors.

With the consummate close of The 7th Dongguan China Shoes. China Shoetec (Spring 2008), booth selling & promotion of Autumn 2008 exhibition are being launched in full swing. The next edition will be held in October 2008 at GD Modern International Exhibition Center, Houjie, Dongguan, in the same period of Canton Fair.

Many old & new exhibitors have confirmed their booth already. China Shoes is fully supported by Houjie Government, and the 2nd World Footwear Forum will be held concurrently with autumn 08 show.